Newbie drill question

I got a bunch of Forstner drills over the years at yard sales. Some
have round shafts, some have four sided shafts.
Are the four sided ones for use in a brace? The old hand style drill?
I need to drill some railroad ties, and some thick telephone poles. Do
these chuck up safely to a regular drill, or does it take a special
drill to run these bits?
Steve

I have seen forstner bits that are used in a special lock and doorknob
drilling jig that have four sided non tapered tops. An adapter goes in the
drill, then the adapter quick connects to the 2 1/8th and the 1" bit, for
drilling the face of the door and the edge for the plunger, respectively.

That's pretty much true, but there are a new set of bits out there.
These auger bits are not full twist unsupported. They have a shaft that
supports the auger, so they will not twist out of shape. See the new
IRWINS.
I'm betting that there is an auger made especially for these thick
woods, made for the landscapers who drill them all the time.
The trick is to slowly drill so as not to overheat the bit, a big D
handled drill. And a very sharp bit self feeding.

I would not use a forstner bit on a rail tie....
I would use like an electrician drill bit....nail cutter, lots of material
removal capability.
You can find these at garage sales and tool sales...
Rail ties are tough, and could have rocks embedded.....and or steel.
john
"SteveB" wrote in message
I got a bunch of Forstner drills over the years at yard sales. Some
have round shafts, some have four sided shafts.
Are the four sided ones for use in a brace? The old hand style drill?
I need to drill some railroad ties, and some thick telephone poles. Do
these chuck up safely to a regular drill, or does it take a special
drill to run these bits?
Steve

If you use a homeowners drill, that is near certain. It must be a drill
with a heavy, low speed gearbox, and it helps to run the drill in free air -
no load for 15 seconds after each hole to cool the motor.

Interesting. I've never seen a forstner with a square shaft. It would be
difficult to use a forstner in a brace because there's no self-feed screw.
Without seeing one, my guess is that the square shaft was designed for use
in a post drill: http://www.farmcollector.com/tools/answers-to-october-2009-mystery-tools.aspx#axzz2zHCtlzX8
These had a mechanism that coupled the crank handle to downfeed the drill
as it was turned.

I don't know if the on the OP was talking about is the same kind of bit I
was talking about, but I'm telling you a fact. A square shaft foster
besides for a post drill does exist.
I had a door-know drilling setup (at school) that had a captured forstner
for the knob hole and another for the plunger hole. They had a proprietary
square shaft with a groove under that as I recall that held the bit in the
quick connector. You put a quick connect in the drill (proprietary) and
each of the bits fit this quick connect. You clamp the jig on the door,
drill one, then the other, without having to use a chuck key to change
bits...
I never used it. Not precise enough, or adjustable enough to suit each
different situation. I like to measure.

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